''Poetical Refugee'' () is a

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

French

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Abdellatif Kechiche Abdellatif Kechiche (; , born 7 December 1960), also known as Abdel Kechiche, is a Tunisian-France, French film director, screenwriter and actor. He made his directorial debut in 2000 with ''La Faute à Voltaire'', which he also wrote. Known for ...

, starring

Sami Bouajila Sami Bouajila (born 26 May 1966) is a Tunisian-French actor who has won two César Awards. Bouajila has worked and acted in two Oscar nominated films ('' Days of Glory'' and '' Outside the Law''), both directed by director Rachid Bouchareb. Earl ...

Élodie Bouchez Élodie Bouchez (born 5 April 1973) is a French actress. She became internationally known for her role as Renée Rienne on the fifth and final season of the television show '' Alias'' and for playing Maïté Alvarez in the film '' Wild Reeds''. ...

and

Bruno Lochet Bruno Lochet (born 18 October 1959) is a French actor. He is best known for playing in the cult TV series '' Les Deschiens'' (1993–2002), in which he played alongside Yolande Moreau. Theater Filmography Cinema Television Refe ...

. It was Kechiche‘s debut feature film and was awarded the Luigi De Laurentiis Award at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

for best first film, winning seven awards, overall, at different film festivals.

Plot

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...

‘s

Candide ( , ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled ''Candide: or, All for the Best'' (1759); ''Candide: or, The ...

in his eponymous novel, Jallel, a young North African man, dreaming of better prospects, immigrates illegally to France. He struggles at first as he is unable to find work and finds it difficult to make friends. But soon he gets to sell fruits in the underground, albeit illegally. He also makes some new friends and then falls in love. But his dreams of success remain unrealized as he comes to discover and share the solidarity of the other outcasts going from one encounter to the other, making his way through Paris, from hostels to immigrant aid societies and social welfare groups, living among the excluded and the destitute.

Cast

: Lucie *

: Jallel * Aure Atika : Nassera *

: Franck * Mustapha Adouani : Mostfa *

Carole Franck Carole Franck is a French actress. Filmography Dubbing Theatre References External links * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Franck, Carole Living people French film actresses French television actresses Actresses from Paris 20th-century Fre ...

: Barbara * Virginie Darmon : Leila * Olivier Loustau : Antonio * François Genty : Paul * Sami Zitouni : Nono * Jean-Michel Fête : Philippe * Manuel Le Lièvre : André

Critical reception

"With superb performances by Sami Bouajila (Bye Bye), Aure Atika and Elodie Bouchez (The Dream Life of Angels), Poetical Refugee offers a moving and tender portrayal of life on the margins, a review by ''Cinema of the World'' noted.

Accolades

;Angers European First Film Festival-2001 *European Special Jury Award *Jean Carmet Award for the ensemble of actors. ;Cologne Mediterranean Film Festival-2001 *Best Actress to Élodie Bouchez ;Namur International Festival of French-Speaking Film-2000 *Jury Special Prize *Youth Jury Emile Cantillon Award *nominated for Golden Bayard Best Film (Meilleur Film Francophone) ;Venice Film Festival-2000 *Cinema for Peace Award *Luigi De Laurentiis Award

References

External links

* *
Poetical Refugee at UniFrance Films
{{Abdellatif Kechiche 2001 films 2001 drama films 2000s French-language films Films directed by Abdellatif Kechiche French drama films 2000s French films